Fuel tank valve apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fuel tank valve apparatus for use with a fuel tank. The fuel tank apparatus has an inlet neck defining a valve chamber, a valve housing positioned in the valve chamber, a valve positioned to move within the valve housing to regulate flow of liquid fuel into the fuel tank, and a retainer. The inlet neck is attachable to the fuel tank. The valve housing is retained in the inlet neck for communicating with the fuel tank. Connecting the inlet neck to the fuel tank maintains the integrity of the tank and inlet neck material.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/168,875 filed Dec. 3, 1999 and U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/191,658, filed Mar. 23, 2000, bothof which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fuel system, and particularly to afuel tank within the fuel system. More particularly, this inventionrelates to an inlet check valve and a method of installing such a valvewithin an inlet neck of the fuel tank.

In an automobile fuel system, a fuel tank is typically filled via afiller neck into which a fuel-dispensing nozzle is inserted. The fueltank may be molded to include an inlet neck which is connected to thefiller neck by way of a jumper hose. The molded tank is formed of asuitable plastic material. It is desirable to include an inlet checkvalve within the inlet neck of the fuel tank to prevent liquid fuel fromescaping back up through the inlet neck and jumper hose to the fillerneck. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,828. In the interest ofcontaining fuel vapor and hydrocarbons, such molded tanks may beconstructed with a permeation or penetration barrier to preventhydrocarbons from the fuel from escaping to the atmosphere through thetank material.

Typically, a valve is placed in the inlet neck at the time of assemblyof the fuel storage system including the fuel tank. At the time the fueltank is installed in the automobile, the jumper hose is installed toconnect the fuel tank to the filler neck. In this way, the valve placedwithin the inlet neck is prevented from backing out of the inlet neck bythe connection of the jumper hose to the inlet neck of the fuel tank.

According to the present invention, a fuel tank valve apparatus includesa fuel tank having an inlet neck defining a valve chamber, a valvehousing positioned in the valve chamber, a valve positioned to movewithin the valve housing to regulate flow of liquid fuel into the fueltank, and a retainer. The retainer serves to couple the valve housing tothe inlet neck for retaining the valve housing in the inlet neck andmaintaining the integrity of the tank and inlet neck material.

In preferred embodiments, the retainer comprises a collar having aflange weldable to an annular rim of the inlet neck. The collar isconnected to the valve housing to create an insert cartridge. An insertcartridge is formed by inserting a shaft of the valve housing into thecollar before the collar has completely cured subsequent to beingmolded. In this way, the collar cools and cures around the shaft of thevalve housing forming a secure connection there between to create theinsert cartridge. The insert cartridge is then placed within a valvechamber of the inlet neck and secured therein by welding the weldableflange of the collar to the annular rim of the inlet neck.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription and preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode ofcarrying out the invention as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figuresin which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, with portions cut away, of a vehiclefuel tank showing an inlet neck integrally molded to the exterior wallof the fuel tank;

FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective view of the inlet neck of FIG. 1, theinlet neck having an inner end, an outer end, and an annular rim;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a valve housing and aretaining collar prior to being mounted in a fuel tank inlet neck asshown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, with portions cut away, of the valve housingand retaining collar of FIG. 3 inserted within the inlet neck of FIG. 2to illustrate a first embodiment of a fuel tank valve apparatus inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a valve housing and sealingring prior to being mounted in a fuel tank inlet neck as shown in FIG.6, the valve housing having a series of retaining barbs coupled to it;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, with portions cut away, of the valve housingand sealing ring of FIG. 5 retained within the inlet neck of the fueltank by way of the barbs of FIG. 5 to illustrate a second embodiment ofa fuel tank valve apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a valve housing, an O-ring, atoothed washer, and a sealing cap prior to being mounted in a fuel tankinlet neck as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, with portions cut away, of the valve housingand O-ring of FIG. 7 retained within the inlet neck of the fuel tank bythe toothed washer of FIG. 7 to illustrate a third embodiment of a fueltank valve apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a valve housing molded toinclude a sealing lip and a retaining barb prior to being mounted in afuel tank inlet as shown in FIG. 10 and an O-ring; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view with portions cut away of the valve housingmolded to include a sealing lip of FIG. 9 inserted within a filler neckwhich is molded to include a hose-retaining barb to illustrate a fourthembodiment of a fuel tank valve apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIG. 1, a fuel tank 10 includes an outer wall 16 whichdefines an interior fuel storage region 14. Fuel tank 10 may be moldedto include an inlet neck 12. In this case, inlet neck 12 is typicallymolded as an integral part of fuel tank 10. Referring back to FIG. 1,the entire fuel tank 10, including inlet neck 12, may be constructed,using known techniques, of a multi-layer plastic material which preventspermeation of liquid and vapor fuel there through. As such, a permeationor penetration barrier 13 layer of material may be provided. Barrier 13prevents hydrocarbons from the fuel from escaping through the walls ofthe tank. Barrier 13 may be positioned along an inside surface, anoutside surface or sandwiched between inner and outer layers of the tank10. As shown in FIG. 2, inlet neck 12 has an inner end 18 which abutsouter wall 16 and an outer end 20. Inlet neck 12 further includes anouter annular rim 22 defining an inlet opening 26 and an inner annularrim 27 defining an outlet opening 28. An inner wall 34 of the inlet neck12 defines a valve chamber 24 therein.

Various embodiments of a fuel tank valve apparatus in accordance withthe present invention are shown in FIGS. 4, 6, 8, and 10. In the variousembodiments like elements use the same reference numbers or variationsof the same reference number using an alphabetic suffix. In each case, aretainer 29 serves to couple a valve housing 30 within inlet neck 12with a value 32 retained within the valve housing 30. Further, eachembodiment couples valve housing 30 to tank 10 without breaching orcutting through barrier 13 and thus maintaining a continuousuninterrupted barrier against hydrocarbon emissions. By maintaining theintegrity of barrier 13 the possibility of hydrocarbon escape is furtherreduced.

In the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the retainer29 a is in the form of at least on and preferably a plurality retainingcollar 36 which surrounds a shaft 40 of the valve housing 30 andincludes a weldable flange 38 suitable for welding to an annular rim 22of the inlet neck 12.

In a second embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the retainer 29a is in the form of retaining barbs 52 which are coupled directly to thevalve housing 30 a and prevent the valve housing 30 a from backing outof the inlet neck 12 a once the valve housing 30 a is installed withinthe inlet neck 12 a.

In a third embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the retainer 29b is in the form of a toothed washer 70 which abuts against acircumferential rib 84 coupled to the valve housing 30 b. The toothedwasher 70 includes teeth 74 which engage or dig into the interior wall34 of the inlet neck 12 b to prevent the valve housing 30 b fromdisengaging or backing out of the inlet neck 12 b once the valve housing30 b is installed within the inlet neck 12 b.

In a fourth embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the retainer29 c is in the form of a retaining barb 106 molded as part of the valvehousing 30 c which fits within cooperatively formed recess 114 in theinlet neck 12 c to prevent the valve housing 30 c from disengaging orbacking out of the inlet neck 12 c once the inlet neck 12 c cools andconforms around the valve housing 30 c.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, fuel tank valve apparatus 15 includes aretaining collar 36 having a weld flange 38. As shown in FIG. 3, a valvehousing 30 includes a shaft 40 having one or more ribs 44 thereon. Theshaft 40 is inserted within a shaft-receiving chamber 42 of collar 36.Ribbed shaft 40 is sized to tightly fit within shaft receiving chamber42 of collar 36. Collar 36 will typically be constructed of HDPE plasticor some other material suitable for welding to fuel tank 10. HDPEplastic, or other suitable materials for welding to fuel tank 10, aretypically shaped through a molding process. After molding collar 36 outof HDPE plastic, and before it has time to completely cure, ribbed shaft40 of valve housing 30 is forced into shaft-receiving chamber 42 ofcollar 36. In this way, collar 36 cools, cures, and forms around ribbedshaft 40 so that ribs 44 of ribbed shaft 40 engage an internal surface43 of collar 36 to hold the collar 36 in engagement with valve housing30. It is within the scope of this disclosure that other methods such asovermolding of collar 36 on ribbed shaft 40 may be used to couple collar36 to valve housing 30.

After valve housing 30 and collar 36 have been coupled as describedabove, a resulting valve assembly insert cartridge 46 is positioned intoor dropped down into valve chamber 24 of inlet neck 12. With cartridge46 inserted into valve chamber 24, a bottom surface 48 of weld flange 38abuts annular rim 22 of inlet neck 12. Once inserted, cartridge 46 issecured to inlet neck 12 by a weld 50 between bottom surface 48 andannular rim 22 of inlet neck 12. In this way, inlet check valve 32,included within valve housing 30 is secured within inlet neck 12 of fueltank 10 via retainer collar 36. A typical inlet check valve is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,029 issued May 2, 2000 and assigned to theassignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. Weld 50 serves as a positiveconnection between valve housing 30 and inlet neck 12 and seals all ofthe layers, including barrier 13 layer, of the tank material. Weld 50 isthen further sealed when a jumper hose (not shown) is later engaged orclamped over an external surface 49 of inlet neck 12 during insertion offuel tank 10 into an automobile (not shown).

Another fuel tank valve apparatus 17 in accordance with the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the retainer 29a in the form of one or more outwardly extending projections illustratedas a series of retaining barbs 52 are coupled to a valve housing 30 a toform an insert cartridge 46 a. The barbs 52 may be in the form ofdiscrete barbs or annular rings which provide the necessary engagementwith the inside surface of the neck 12 a. An outside dimension 53 of theprojections 52 being greater than an interior dimension 55 of the inletneck 12 a to create an interference fit. In this embodiment, valvehousing 30 a, itself, includes a flange 60. Insert cartridge 56 isinserted into valve chamber 24 of inlet neck 12 a and is retainedtherein by retaining barbs 52. Retaining barbs 52 dig into inner wall 34of inlet neck 12 a, thereby preventing insert cartridge 46 a from beingbacked out of inlet neck 12 a. With insert cartridge 46 a inserted intoinlet neck 12 a, flange 60 limits the inward range of travel of thecartridge 46 a into the valve chamber 24 and prevents liquid fuel withininterior fuel storage region 14 of fuel tank 10 from escaping betweenvalve housing 30 a and inner wall 34, past retaining barbs 52, and outof inlet neck 12 a. However, additional sealing may be achieved by theinclusion of a sealing ring 58 between flange 60 and annular rim 22.

Yet another fuel tank valve apparatus 19 in accordance with the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As shown in FIG. 7, a valve housing30 b includes a shaft 82 having a plurality of spacers 66 and a washerrib 84. To secure valve housing 30 b within inlet neck 12, the retainer29 b in the form of a toothed washer 70 used. Toothed washer 70 ispositioned or slipped over shaft 82 and abuts washer rib 84. Then, asealing cap 72 is welded to an annular edge 76 to form an insertcartridge 64 and capturing toothed washer 70 between washer rib 84 andsealing cap 72.

An entire insert cartridge 46 b is then inserted within valve chamber 24of inlet neck 12 until a bottom surface 78 of a cap flange 80 abutsannular rim 72 of inlet neck 12 b. This prevents valve housing 30 b fromslipping out of valve chamber 24 and down the interior fuel storageregion 14. Teeth 74 of toothed washer 70 are canted upward toward aninlet opening 26 of inlet neck 12 b so that they “slide” along innerwall 34 without “catching.” However, any one or more of teeth 74 oftoothed washer 70 dig into inner wall 34 of inlet neck 12 b, and serveto retain valve housing 30 b within valve chamber 24 of inlet neck 12,out of inlet neck 12 if it is attempted to back valve housing 30 b. Inthis way, valve housing 30 b is held within valve chamber 24 through thecooperation of both toothed washer 70 and cap flange 80. Sealing cap 72further serves to provide a physical barrier to prevent fuel fromescaping out of interior fuel storage region 14 and through inlet neck12 b. However, additional sealing may be achieved by the inclusion of anO-ring 68 positioned by sequential spacers 66 between valve housing 30 band inner wall 34 of inlet neck 12 b.

Still another fuel tank apparatus 100 in accordance with the presentinvention is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. As shown in FIG. 9, a valvehousing 30 c includes a shaft 104 molded to integrally include aretainer 29 c in the form of a retaining barb 106 and a sealing lip 108.As shown in FIG. 10, an inlet neck 12 c is formed as an integral part offuel tank 10 and is molded to include a hose-retaining barb 112. Whentank 10 is blow molded to include hose-retaining barb 112 as part ofinlet neck 12 c, a recess 114 is necessarily formed oppositehose-retaining barb 112.

Valve housing 30 c is secured within inlet neck 12 c by inserting valvehousing 30 c within inlet neck 12 c before inlet neck 12 c hascompletely cooled and cured after molding. In this way, inlet neck 12 ccools and shrinks around shaft 104 of valve housing 30 c and retainingbarb 106 is captured within recess 114 to secure valve housing 30 cwithin inlet neck 12 c. The interface between retaining barb 106 andrecess 114 provides secure engagement while maintaining the unbrokenintegrity of continuous barrier layer 13. With valve housing 30 c thussecured within inlet neck 12 c, sealing lip 108 completely covers andoverlaps an end 116 of inlet neck 12 c. Once valve housing 30 c issecured within inlet neck 12 c, a jumper hose 118 is slipped oversealing lip 108 of valve housing 30 c and inlet neck 12 c, and clampedin place using a hose clamp 120. With this configuration, an outercircumferential edge 122 of sealing lip 108 contacts jumper hose 118 toform a fuel and hydrocarbon impermeable seal there between. At the sametime, hose-retaining barb 112 provides retention and a secondary sealalong with hose clamp 120 to prevent jumper hose 118 from slipping offof inlet neck 12 c and fuel and hydrocarbons from leaking from theassembly. It should be noted that the present disclosure is not intendedto be limited to the specific size and proportional relationship betweensealing lip 108 and barb 112 as shown FIG. 10. Rather, sealing lip 108may have a diameter which is larger, smaller or equal to the diameter ofbarb 112.

It will be understood to one of ordinary skill in the art that inletneck 12 c may be molded to omit hose-retaining barb 112 and molded withgenerally straight walls so that both the hose-retention andfuel-sealing functions are achieved by sealing lip 108 of valve housing30 c. Valve housing 30 c is typically constructed of a material which isfuel and hydrocarbon impenetrable or impermeable. The outer layer of amulti-layer fuel tank, such as fuel tank 10, is typically constructed ofHDPE and while it is fuel impermeable, it is generally not hydrocarbonimpenetrable and does not alone stop hydrocarbon emissions frompenetrating or permeating the material. Therefore, sealing lip 108 ofvalve housing 30 c overlaps end 116 of inlet neck 12 c and directcontacts jumper hose 118 to provide a fuel-impenetrable seal. It will bereadily understood to one of ordinary skill in the art that such a fueland hydrocarbon impenetrable sealing lip formed as an integral part of avalve housing may be utilized in any one of the earlier referencedembodiments suggested by FIGS. 1-8.

In each embodiment described above, an inlet check valve 32 ispositively secured within the inlet neck 12 (generally) of the fuel tank10 prior to a jumper hose being connected to the inlet neck at the timethe fuel tank is installed within an automobile. As discussed above, theembodiments also show that retainer 29 (generally) engages the inletneck without breaking permeability barrier 13. Further, in FIGS. 1-8,the inlet check valve is included within the overall fuel deliverysystem with the only possible point of fuel leakage or interruption ofpermeation barrier 13 located at the inlet opening of the inlet neck—alocation which is, at any rate, enveloped by the jumper hose clampedover the inlet neck to provide a connection between the inlet neck andthe filler neck at the time the fuel tank is installed within thevehicle. In addition, as depicted in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9,and 10, a sealing lip or barb which overlaps the inlet opening of theinlet neck may be utilized, so that even the inlet opening (whilenevertheless enveloped by the jumper hose) does not create a possiblepoint of fuel leakage.

Present invention also includes the method of installing valve housing30 (generally) in said inlet neck 12 (generally). With reference to thefigures, the valve housing is provided with a retainer to couple thevalve housing with the inlet neck. The valve housing is provided withthe valve 32 retained therein. The retainer 29 (generally) is formed onor attached to the valve housing as shown in the illustrations anddescribed hereinabove. The valve housing is then inserted into the valvechamber of the inlet neck with the retainer engaging the inlet neck,without breaching barrier 13, so as to position the valve 32 retainedwithin the housing 30 (generally) in communication with the tank andmaintain the integrity of barrier 13.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference tocertain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist withinthe scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fuel tank valve apparatus comprising: a fueltank including a wall and an inlet neck extending from said wall, saidinlet neck having an inner end appended to said wall and an outer endarranged to define a rim, said inlet neck defining a valve chamberhaving an inlet opening defined by said rim and an outlet openingcommunicating with the interior volume of said fuel tank; a valvehousing positioned at least partially in said valve chamber; a valvepositioned in said valve housing to regulate flow of liquid fuel intosaid fuel tank through a filler neck coupled to said inlet neck; aretainer coupled to said valve housing and arranged to engage said inletneck to retain said valve housing in a fixed position in said valvechamber so that said valve housing is fixed to said fuel tank; and saidretainer includes a plurality of barbs extending from an outer surfaceof said valve housing and arranged to engage an inner wall of said inletneck.
 2. A fuel tank valve apparatus comprising: a fuel tank including awall and an inlet neck extending from said wall, said inlet neck havingan inner end appended to said wall and an outer end arranged to define arim, said inlet neck defining a valve chamber having an inlet openingdefined by said rim and an outlet opening communicating with theinterior volume of said fuel tank; a valve housing positioned at leastpartially in said valve chamber; a valve positioned in said valvehousing to regulate flow of liquid fuel into said fuel tank through afiller neck coupled to said inlet neck; a retainer coupled to said valvehousing and arranged to engage said inlet neck to retain said valvehousing in a fixed position in said valve chamber so that said valvehousing is fixed to said fuel tank; and said retainer includes a toothedwasher positioned to lie between said valve housing and an inner wall ofsaid inlet neck.
 3. A fuel tank valve apparatus comprising: a fuel tankincluding a wall and an inlet neck extending from said wall, said inletneck having an inner end appended to said wall and an outer end arrangedto define a rim, said inlet neck defining a valve chamber having aninlet opening defined by said rim and an outlet opening communicatingwith the interior volume of said fuel tank; a valve housing positionedat least partially in said valve chamber; a valve positioned in saidvalve housing to regulate flow of liquid fuel into said fuel tankthrough a filler neck coupled to said inlet neck; a retainer coupled tosaid valve housing and arranged to engage said inlet neck to retain saidvalve housing in a fixed position in said valve chamber so that saidvalve housing is fixed to said fuel tank; and said retainer includes atleast one outwardly extending projection with said inlet neck beingovermolded over said outwardly extending projection.
 4. A fuel tankvalve apparatus for installation into an inlet neck of a fuel tank, saidinlet neck defining a valve chamber having an inlet opening defined byan open end of said inlet neck, said fuel tank valve apparatuscomprising: a valve housing formed for at least partially being disposedin said valve chamber; a valve retained in communication with said valvehousing; a retainer for coupling said valve housing with said inlet neckto retain said valve housing in a fixed position in said valve chamberto position said valve relative to said fuel tank; and said retainerincludes a toothed washer positioned to lie between said valve housingand an inner wall of said inlet neck.
 5. A fuel tank valve apparatus forinstallation into an inlet neck of a fuel tank, said inlet neck defininga valve chamber having an inlet opening defined by an open end of saidinlet neck, said fuel tank valve apparatus comprising: a valve housingformed for at least partially being disposed in said valve chamber; avalve retained in communication with said valve housing; a retainer forcoupling said valve housing with said inlet neck to retain said valvehousing in a fixed position in said valve chamber to position said valverelative to said fuel tank; and said retainer includes at least oneoutwardly extending projections with said inlet neck being overmoldedover said outwardly extending projection.
 6. A method of installing afuel tank apparatus on an inlet neck of a fuel tank, said fuel tankincluding a hydrocarbon impermeable barrier layer, said fuel tankapparatus including a valve housing positioned at least partially in avalve chamber defined by said inlet neck, a valve positioned in saidvalve housing, and a retainer coupled to said valve housing for engagingsaid inlet neck to retain said valve housing in said chamber withoutinterrupting said hydrocarbon impermeable barrier layer of said tank,said method including the steps of: forming said valve housing;positioning said valve in said valve housing; providing a retainingcollar engageable with said valve housing for defining a valve assembly;and attaching a portion of said retaining collar to said inlet neck forretaining said valve assembly in communication with said inlet neckretainer collar without interrupting said hydrocarbon impermeablebarrier layer of said tank, to position said valve in communication withsaid fuel tank.